Haunting Nightmares
by queenofallthingsrandom
Summary: Nico wanders around the Argo II late at night and begins to wonder why he even bothers. Who will be there to save him from himself? The boy who hides behind smiles, of course! Attempted… whatever he was trying to do, and possibly yaoi.
1. Discoveries

Author's note: it's late, I'm tired drunk, and I felt like writing something sad/happy.

I own nothing.

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(Nico POV)

It's been two days since Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. I haven't been able to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I can see the look on Percy's face as he fell. It was determined, yet knowing. He could tell that they were damned to hell. The worst part of it is, I know that they won''t be able to make it out. I was down there. It's torture.

I've been wandering around the deck for almost three hours now, and I stopped to lean over the side of the Argo II.

I wish I could make the pain go away. I want it all to stop. I want to stop caring, I want to stop being different, and, above all, I want to stop loving Percy. It's not fair. He's in love with Annabeth, and he'll never know how much it hurts to see them together. He'll never know how much I love him. I would die for him, but he doesn't know that. I let him fall. I couldn't save him. I was powerless as the man I loved fell into hell. I just want to make it all go away.

Without realizing it, I'd clenched my fists hard enough to make my nails dig into my palms. There was blood dripping from the wounds, and I got an idea. I could make everything stop. I pulled out my sword and held it over my wrist. Maybe I'd finally get some peace…

I sliced down, and missed.

A hand pulled my arm out of the way before it could be mutilated.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He whisper-yelled.

It was Leo. Why was he up right now?

"Nothing that concerns you." I muttered coldly before turning away from him. Apparently, this made it easier for him to see my hands.

"Oh gods, you're hurt. What is wrong with you?"

He reached into his utility belt and pulled out bandages.

After wrapping up the cuts on my palms, he started talking to me.

"Why would you want to do that?"

I turned away from him. There was no way I could look him in the eyes.

"You don't want to talk? Fine. I'll tell you something that's difficult for me to talk about. It's something I've only ever told my closest friends, and then maybe you can tell me what made you want to do something as dumb as hurt yourself." I noticed he said 'hurt' and not 'kill'.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay? It was just a moment of weakness, and it won't happen again."

"Well, you had a reason for that 'moment of weakness', and I wanna know what. I won't tell anyone, no matter what it is, and I won't force you to say anything."

He took a deep breath before looking me in the eyes.

"I killed my mother."

I stared at him for second, watching as regret filled his features.

"I had no control over my powers. Gaea was there, with my mom and me. I didn't want to see my mom hurt, and I needed to protect her, no matter what. I lost control, and the entire workshop went up in flames. I survived because of my powers, but my mother didn't. I killed her. Afterwards, I was sent to a foster home with an abusive guardian. I was stuck with him for months, and I almost didn't turn him in. I felt like, in some way, I deserved it. Like i was being punished for my crimes. But I wouldn't let her death be in vain. I called the cops, and he was arrested. After that, I went from foster home to foster home. Some of them were worse than others, and I met good people in some. Every time, I ran away, though. I never wanted to get close to anyone again. Now, here I am, missing two more of the people I consider to be my family, and talking to another friend who, less than thirty minutes ago, I found trying to cut his wrists open. He won't even tell me why he did it, which means I've identified yet another problem that I can't fix. Pretty pathetic, right?"

He was avoiding looking at me, now. That wasn't right. Leo seems almost as if he blames himself for what I did. All of his smiles were gone now.

It just hit me.

None of his smiles are for him, and his jokes are an attempt at making people happier. Their happiness is always more important than his own. He blames himself whenever someone close to him gets hurt, and he doesn't care about his own happiness.

"My sister joined the Hunters of Artemis, " I found myself blurting out, "I was upset because she was levying me behind. She went on a mission to rescue Artemis, and Percy went with her. I made Percy promise to keep my sister safe, and she ended up dying. I was mad at Percy for a long time, but I couldn't help it. I stopped blaming him for her death. When he fell into Tartarus with Annabeth, I freaked out. I'd already lost my most precious person, and I couldn't stand to lose…" I hesitated now. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him.

He might hate me. He could think I'm disgusting, or see me as some sort of a freak.

Leo looked at me intently. I sighed. Even if he hated me, I couldn't keep it from him.

"I couldn't stand to lose the only other person I cared about. I'minlovewithPercy." I managed to get through the confession, and now I had my eyes screwed shut. I was waiting for him to hit me, or call me some disgusting freak.

I flinched when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. He was hugging me.

"Is that what this is about? Do you think people would reject you for that?" He asked. I nodded, wrapping my arms around him and savoring the warmth.

"No one here could ever do that. If they did, I'd knock them into next year! This is who you are. It doesn't matter if you like guys, girls, gods, goddesses, or whatever, man! If people won't accept you for who you are, then they don't deserve to be around you. I'm totally cool with you liking guys. But Percy… Gods. I know that you can't control who you like, but he doesn't get to tear you apart like this. Come on, you need to get to bed." He helped me to my feet and led me to his room. I was frozen the entire time. He wasn't repulsed. He accepted me. He's acting like this is all okay.

"You can sleep in here tonight. I'll probably just go and build something awesome." He said, starting to walk away.

"Wait!" I called after him, immediately regretting it.

"What?"

"Can you… Can you stay in the room with me? I have nightmares, and I need someone to wake me if I have one." I said it quietly, but he heard it, somehow.

He grinned. "Sure."

I got into his bed and closed my eyes, falling into a deep sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

(Leo POV)

I've never really had a decent conversation with this guy before, but Nico seems like he's been through a lot. According to Hazel, he was from the 30's, so I guess he would sill hold some old-fashioned views about being gay, but it's not wrong. You can't help it if you like guys or girls.

I need to build something.

I got almost halfway through making a remote control spider, for my next great prank, before Nico started tossing and turning behind me. He must be having a nightmare.

I walked over to him and reached out to try and shake him awake, but I never got that far. All of a sudden, I was pinned to the ground with a sword digging into my chest.

Nico was standing above me, half awake, holding his stygian iron weapon. He was glaring at me, and then his eyes widened as he realized what he was doing, and he jumped away from me.

"Leo, I am so sorry. I didn't mean it, it was just a reflex." He dropped his weapon and I stood up.

"It's fine. You were having a nightmare, and it freaked you out. I should've been more careful waking you up." I insisted, ignoring the blood dripping from the wound on my chest. Nico saw it.

"Oh, gods, I hurt you. How deep is it?" He was freaking out.

"Chill. It doesn't even hurt. Trust me, I'm fine."

He calmed down enough to start searching for ambrosia and nectar. After my battle wound was treated to, he sat down on my bed.

(Nico POV)

When someone actually accepted me and treated me like a human being, what do I do? I try to stab him. I'm such a wonderful friend. He doesn't seem mad at me, though, thank the gods.

"Was that nightmare about Tartarus?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"I understand. Try and get a little more rest. I'll wake you if you have another nightmare." I nodded, sincerely hoping that I would be able to sleep peacefully, for my sake and Leo's.

I lay back down and fell asleep to the sound of Leo building his contraptions.

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Author: Don't question my GENIUS!

Yeah, someone should probably stop me. My writing will ultimately destroy humanity.

Please review, follow, and favorite! I need the attention.


	2. Promises

Author's notes: **Kris Awesomeness,** thank you for reviewing. I'm happy that someone is reading this story. I kinda figured it might've been a little angst and depressing, but… It has Nico in it. He's always depressed. Please, people, review and follow this story! I'm trying to write, like a thousand stories at once. It's actually only 6, but it's hard for a weirdo like me! I updated this chapter to e (hopefully) a bit better than before. This story still doesn't have many followers, though… aww well. I guess that my fabulousness was too much for some people.

I own nothing.

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(Nico POV)

When I woke up, Leo wasn't in the room. I remembered our talk last night… He still likes me?

I got up and walked out of the room. Frank was outside.

"U-um… I guess I'll just go…" He sounded embarrassed.

"Why were you outside of Leo's room?" I asked, glaring at him.

"I-I was just going to ask him about our location. What were you doing in his room?"

"He let me crash in there last night. I don't know what you think happened, but it didn't." I muttered, bushing past him. His face was completely red.

"Have you seen him since last night?" He managed to ask me as I was walking away.

"No." I tried to walk away again ,only to be stopped by his voice.

"I haven't either. I asked everyone else and they don't know where he is. It's strange. Normally, by now, he'd be jumping around and bothering everyone."

I tensed when he said Leo bothered people, but didn't say anything.

"Can I go now, or are you going to keep rambling on?" He flinched at my voice. I was being a little harsh, but I really need to get away. Frank turned away and I left as fast as I could.

So no one's seen Leo today… Was it because of last night?

After checking the rest of the ship and finding nothing, other than a few of the seven who conveniently avoided me, I ran to the engine room.

If he wasn't here… than he's not on the ship. He could've been killed during the night. Hades, anything could've happened to him; he's a demigod! Everything that could possibly go wrong for us does!

There was a noise in the back, and I walked forward, praying to the gods he was here. I was met with a latino boy covered in engine grease.

"Oh. Hey."

I slid down to the floor silently.

"Didn't think anyone would find me back here. I needed some time alone. I've been kinda mad."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Just… I hate they way people act sometimes."

"Did something happen?" I growled. For some reason, I felt protective of him.

"It's just… the fact that you thought that we would hate you just because you're gay makes me mad. I don't know who made you think like that, but I don't like it. I don't like the way that this world could make life so horrible for someone. After everything you've been through, you just… It upsets me. I barely know you, but the things that you've had to go through make me sick. You deserve so much better."

I stared at him for a minute. How do _I_ deserve better?

"It's just the way things are. You can't change anything. The only option we have is to accept that this world makes us put up with more than we can handle, until we end up breaking. In the end, we fade away, forgetting about whatever happened to us. Death isn't the end of things, it's a chance at peace." I explained. I heard him walking towards me, and looked over to see him sitting down next to me on the floor.

He put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into an awkward side hug, resting his chin on my head.

"You're wrong. You've only seen the bad things in life, and it's not fair." He mumbled through my hair. "Promise that you''ll never try to do anything like what you tried last night."

I didn't say anything. He pulled away and held me by my shoulders.

"Promise me!" He commanded, looking at me desperately.

(Leo POV)

I can't have him trying to do _that_ again. If I lose the only other person that I actually connected with, I don't know what will happen.

"Please…" I whispered. I couldn't stop my eyes from watering. Pathetic. Who else will I let die? I stood and turned away from him to wipe my eyes.

"I promise."

I spun around quickly.

I couldn't stop the smile from slowly spreading across my face.

"But why does it matter to you?" He sounded afraid to ask.

"Because you're my friend. You're also… kinda the only person I've ever been able to relate to. If you died, I think I would just stay away from people to keep them safe. I mean, the only people I've ever had extended contact with end up in mortal danger. I know that it's how a demigod's life is supposed to work, but I don't want things to be that way." I said, "Okay, that's all the serious talk I can handle for today. Besides, I need to tell the others where we are. We're getting close to the entrance of Tartarus."

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Author's note: I don't even know what I want to do with this story… I might just delete it. Oh, well. Time for the movie of the day:

Corpse Bride! It has Johnny Depp and Helana Bonham Carter, but it's one of those weird claymation-like things.

Review, favorite, and follow please!


	3. Let's Make A Deal

Author's note: I know that I'm the author, but I REALLY like this fic. It's one of my favorite that I've written, and it was amazing. I'm such an egomaniac…. Oh, well. Thank you for reviewing, **Kris Awesomeness, and SimiParthenopaus,** you're both amazing. I'm sorry that it took me so long to post a short chapter, but… Yeah, I don't have an excuse. It was the holidays' fault?

Anyway, I really hope that my awesome readers will be able to wait a little longer, because I'm working on the next chapter, and it will be way longer and better(Innuendo one). Thank you guys so much for showing me support, though! I really hope that I don't scare any of you off with my insanity, but… yeah. Watch out for the end author's note.

I don't own anything. At all.

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(Leo POV)

As soon as I mentioned Tartarus, Nico froze.

"Nico? You there, buddy?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's just… Tartarus is still a sensitive topic for me, and… Even though I need to go, I know it won't be easy."

"Listen, if you don't want to, you don't have to come with us."

"N-no! I can't do that. Percy and Annabeth are down there, and you might need my help to get them back. Besides, I promised to bring you guys to the doors, so I don't have a choice."

I stared at him for a minute. He didn't actually respond to what I said.

"Do you want to go, though?"

"That doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it does! Besides, I'm not saying that your answer decides what happens, I'm just asking. Now, answer."

"It's pretty obvious that I don't. But, again, that doesn't matter. I can't break my promise."

I paused for a minute. Making him stay here would only hurt him more, because he would feel like he couldn't even handle something as simple as being a tour guide, but I can't just let him go back to literally the place of his nightmares.

"Okay, I have a plan. You have to be willing to listen to me, though. Don't shoot down my idea just because you want to do it all yourself. I could take them there for you. You could stay away from there, and still be keeping your promise in a way. All you have to do is draw up a map! Heck, even describing its location would probably work."

"But what if you guys need my help? What if you can't get out, and I'm stuck here, completely useless as you all get killed! If I went with you, I could help, or, at the very least, die fighting!"

"Trust me, we can handle ourselves. If anything happens, I'm sure we can handle it. How about this? You stay on the Argo, and if we take too long and don't come back out for a while, you can come in and try to help. You should be able to sense if one of us is in danger of dying, anyway, so you would be able to know if we need help."

"Not really. I can tell when life forces are slipping away, and when they're gone, but once it get's to either one of those points, it's too late for them to be saved. It's better if I go with you."

"Nope. I know that you mean well and all, but you should know that I can't stand it when other people make unnecessary sacrifices. You have nightmares about this place. I won't just let you go back there. Who, in their right mind, would?"

His eyes widened a bit before he looked away from me.

"Fine." He muttered, getting up and walking away.

That… actually surprised me. I expected him to try and fight me on this, or at least tell me that I couldn't make his decisions for him… I hope he's not lying…

(Nico POV)

Why the Hades would I agree to that? I was supposed to keep a promise, and I gave up, just like that. I couldn't stop myself from saying it, though. He was moving closer to me, and he was staring at me, like he expected something form me. For some reason, I didn't want to disappoint him, so… I just gave in.

Deep down, I know that I'm glad he figured out a way for me to escape my nightmare… but at the same time, he's making it so I can't keep the promise that I made to Percy. Can I really trust Leo to do it for me?

That's the problem. I don't know.

* * *

Author's note: Okay, I am done.

DeadlySin: Really? That's it? Again? You really are a terrible author. I mean, this chapter is less than 800 words without the author's notes, so what the heck are you even writing here? I mean, there wasn't really any plot development, character building, or information in this chapter, so why are you even posting it?

*Sigh* For those of you out there who are unaware if how completely and totally crazy I am, this is my intelligent, coordinated, not-awkward side. It's that one part of your brain that face palms whenever you walk into a wall, or cringes whenever you're the cause of an awkward silence, and then chooses to make you remember them later.

DeadlySin: And all of you need to know, she's crazy. She's writing my part and hers. If I could, I would've left years ago. She won't let me, though.

You'll have to excuse my insanity as of late. It's past 2 a.m., and all bets on me being sane are off.

Song of the day: 1925. Ashe's version. I have no idea who the original artist was, but no copyright intended.

Show of the day: Psycho Pass. I loved it SO much.

Book of the day: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson


	4. Messanger

Author's note: I don't have an excuse… My cat died? I don't have a cat… I was working all week? I don't have a job… My roommate took me to Aruba? I live alone. All I've done is make myself depressed, so I'll stop trying to make excuses. I haven't posted in forever, and not just for this story. I have one that hasn't been updated since October… But I'm fixing it! I'm updating all of my stories that haven't been worked on since 2015.

As for my plan for this story… Improvisation.

* * *

(Percy POV)

I caused this. I don't know how I could be so clueless. He's gone now, and it's all my fault.

"Percy." Annabeth looked at me sympathetically. "I know that you're upset right now, but we need to tell the others what happened. They need to know to stay away."

I didn't respond, and, instead, got up and walked to the shrine of hermes, and helped her send the message.

After we were done, Annabeth let me sit in silence until I couldn't take it anymore.

"How are you not mad at me? I just destroyed any chance we had at escaping! You should _hate_ me right now!" My eyes were watering, and I knew that she could tell.

She pull me into her arms, comforting me and whispering into my ear:

"At least we have each other."

* * *

(Leo POV)

After I talked to Nico in the engine room, I had to go back to smiling and joking around. It wasn't like I was putting on a mask, it's just the only thing I can do to move forward.

I left Nico to work on the map, but I'm starting to regret making that deal. I wouldn't take it back if I could, but I think that I bit off more than I can chew here.

When I really think about what I agreed to do, I realize how completely and totally insane I have to be. I have to lead a group of people to a place that I know nothing about, without ever having been there before, based on some map drawn up from memory, and if I fail, two people could die. There's also the fact that I'm doing this so someone else doesn't have to, and if I don't succeed, he'll blame himself for trusting me.

So, not only is there an improbable task, but there's also tons of pressure on me.

I went back down to the engine room, hoping to talk to Nico again, only to find that he was gone. Lovely. I turned to walk away and started to leave, but stopped when I heard a muffled sob.

I turned and scanned the room, looking for the source of the noise.

It was… Hazel?

She was curled up behind one of the boxes in the room, crying into her sleeve, probably trying to keep quiet.

"Hazel? What's wrong?" I asked, silently cursing myself when she jumped looked up at me fearfully. She wiped her eyes and tried for a smile.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about a few things."

"It's not nothing, and it must've been a pretty upsetting thing to think about if it made you cry. What was it?"

"Leo… I can't." Her eyes started watering again.

I leaned down and wiped her eyes.

"Can't what?" My voice was a little more gentle than before, and I was trying not to upset her.

"I can't tell you." She pushed my hand away and turned so that her back was facing me.

"Hazel. What can't you tell me? You know that you can trust me." I need to know what's making her like this. She's not acting like herself. Anything that could do this to someone so strong can't mean anything good, especially in the demigod world.

"I _do_ trust you."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"I can't! Just leave, Leo!"

"No. Not until you tell me what's wrong."

She didn't answer, and I refused to leave her like this when she clearly needed someone to talk to, so we sat in silence for what felt like eternity. Hazel shifte, and i could tel that she was starting to get uncomfortable.

After around an hour, she finally started talking.

"Camp Half Blood got a message from Percy and Annabeth."

(Hazel POV)

I told him about the message, and how Rachel had contacted me immediately to explain. Throughout my entire story, he was quiet, which scared me more than what I'd expected him to do. I thought he'd be angry, or upset, or even depressed, but he just sat there, calmly.

When I was done, he stood and helped me to my feet.

"Is that all that she said?"

I nodded, staring blankly at him.

"Thank you. Don't worry, Hazel. I'm sure that they'll find some way out of there."

I nodded again, wanting to believe his words. How could they, though? They won't be able to survive on their own, and they no longer have any way of finding the doors. Leo walked away from me, a dazed expression on his face.

(Leo POV)

Well… I've officially been traumatized by both of Hades' kids.

* * *

Author's note: Hehe… it wasn't really a long chapter, was it? I'm such a bad author. Anyways, I would just like to warn you all in advance, I'm planning on killing off either Percy or Annabeth. *Waits for assassination attempts*

I need it to happen for the plot! Plus I don't really like either one of them! *Waits for hell to swallow me*

Okay, enough excuses, even I'm waiting for the plot to kick in on this story. I have to weave it all together first, which is extremely boring, so the chapters will be short… because of boredom.


	5. Too Tired for Titles

(Leo)

Oh my god, how do I do this? I'm such a piece of trash. What the hell am I supposed to do? 'Oh, hey, buddy. You know what I said before? Yeah, I take it back. I need you to come with me to tartarus'?

I started pacing in my room. I need to find him right now.

I threw my door opened and got ready to run all over the ship only to come face to face with a certain male child of Hades.

"Oh. I was just about to knock."

"Nico! Uh, come in! Funny, I was about to go looking for you too."

"Listen, I... I appreciate what you're trying to do, but... And please don't hate me for this... I don't know if I can trust you with this. I know you're capable of a lot, but it would be a lot of easier if I took care of it."

I stared at him before grabbing him by the shoulders and kissed him on the cheek with a loud 'mwaaa' sound effect.

"You are beautiful, Nico di Angelo! I would say I could kiss you, but... too late for that!" I noticed the flush on his face and briefly felt bad for making the kid uncomfortable. "I, um... I have something to tell you. The mission's been canceled."

"W-what? Why? We can't just leave them down there!"

"I know, but... they're not coming back up. They saw the only doors they could use to get out, and one of them would have to stay behind to send the other up. They refuse to be separated. There was someone who would've held the doors of them, but... Percy didn't want to leave him there. He refused to walk through the door, and the one who could help was dragged away from the doors by hundreds of other monsters. Percy and Annabeth barely made it away alive, and they walked back to the alter to contact the camp. Hazel found this all out, and I calmed her down, but... I'm sorta freaking out."

"They're not coming up?" He asked in a hoarse voice. I could see his eyes watering and the next thing I knew, he was sobbing in front of me.

(Nico POV)

Percy's not coming back. He's going to die in hell with Annabeth. Suddenly, breathing seemed so difficult. I tried to force the air into my lungs, but it was to difficult. I was choking on my own tears and everything felt like it was closing in on me. I should've treated him better. I should've tried harder to save him. He was right there. Right in front of me. All I did was sit there and watch him fall.

I'm such a failure.

My vision blurred with tears and I could feel myself starting to slip out of consciousness.

All of a sudden, I felt myself being enveloped by warmth. A familiar voice muttered soothing words to me, just sweet meaningless phrases like 'you're going to be okay' and 'everything will be fine'. It calmed me down and I soon found myself able to see again. Able to breath calmly, and able to stop the tears from falling.

I felt a hand gently wipe away the tears left on my face, and I looked forward to see Leo's face inches from mine. He had his arms wrapped around me as we stood behind his closed room door.

"Trust me, Nico. They'll be fine. Everyone will be fine."

"How can you say that? What are we su-supposed to do to get them out of there?"

He pulled my closer to him and buried his head in my shoulder.

"I'm gonna go to tartarus, and I'm going to hold the door for them."

I immediately pushed him away from me. There's no way he's doing that!

"No!"

"What do you mean, 'no'? It's the only way! Someone has to do it, and I'm the person who'll be missed the least."

"I'll miss you! I don't want you to do it!"

"But it's better to have those two here than me. Two lives mean more than one."

I stared at him defiantly. "Then let my life be the one. Let me do it."

"Hell no. I'm literally going to die before I let that happen. You're an amazing person, Nico, and you deserve to live longer. Besides, your sister needs you. Trust me, you'll forget about me in no time."

I glared at him. "If you think that, then you don't know me at all."

"Okay, I didn't mean that. I'm just saying that I'd rather it be me than you."

"And I'd rather it be me!"

"But I won't let you. You've already been through too much, you've given your all to everyone, and i won't let you literally give up your life."

I clenched my fists. "So you're gonna act like this, then? You're gonna be this much of a hypocrite?" Leo gave me a confused look. "You're gonna tell me it's wrong to kill myself only to turn around wanting to sacrifice yourself when there's someone else who can do it for you?"

"I'd rather die than see you dead."

"And what I feel the same way? Aren't you being selfish by leaving me to be scarred by your death? If I were to be doing the same, You know you would be hung up on it forever, so how do you not see this as selfish?"

Leo stopped and pondered for a minute before stepping closer to me. "Then..." he whispered, seemingly unsure of himself, "Will you come with me? We can decide who goes and who stays later that way."

"Yes. I don't want to fight with you anymore." I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him. Physical contact is still foreign to me.

Leo visibly relaxed into me and put his arms around me, too.

"I don't either."

We stayed that way for a long time before Frank had to ruin it all. He pushed the door opened, saying something about Hazel needing us before stopping mid sentence and staring wide eyed at us. A blush spread across his face and he apologized profusely before backing out of the room.

"Well... I think Frank has the impression that we're together, now." I concluded. Leo nodded with a slight blush.

* * *

I woke up in Leo's bed again. He lets me crash here because I get better sleep in his room, for some reason. He has a theory that it's the smell of gasoline that slowly kills my brain cells enough to let me sleep. If that's the case, those brain cells weren't doing me any good anyway.

Leo was in the room at his desk working on what appeared to be two rings.

I cleared my throat and he shot around to look at me with unbelievably wide eyes. It was clear that he hadn't slept last night.

"Hey, Nico! Good morning! How'd you sleep? No nightmares, I hope. Just kidding! I know you didn't have nightmares cause you weren't tossing in turning! In fact, most of the night you just laid there with a smile on your face! It made you look adorable! You should smile more often! Hey, do you want to see what I've been working on?"

I blinked. It took me a few seconds to register everything he'd said. I glared for the 'adorable' comment. I am not adorable. I am dark. I am creepy. Run away, child. But I nodded in response to his last question.

He walked over to me and handed me a ring. It matched perfectly with the one he was currently putting on his finger, and I stared at him for a minute. Was he going to explain?

"Listen, Valdez, I like you and all, but I'm not sure I'm ready for this kind of commitment."

Leo bursted out laughing.

"Trust me, if I were proposing, the rings would be way fancier than this. I would propose in such an amazing way that you would say yes. The wedding would be beautiful. I'd wear an orange dress, because orange is definitely my color, and you'd wear a black suit. It would look amazing on you, baby. Coach Hedge would walk me down the aisle. Hazel, Piper, Annabeth, and Reyna would be my bridesmaids. You can't tell anyone, but Piper would be my maid of honor. Jason, Percy, Frank, and, per your loving future wife's request, Festus would be your groomsmen. You'd probably have Jason as your best man. The ceremony would be just a few friends, nothing too big."

I chuckled at his antics. It didn't stop him.

"We'd go on our honeymoon in Italy. Even though you know the language, we wouldn't bother with other people. We'd just spend the entire time in our hotel room watching crappy movies and getting really into them like nerds. Our first fights as a couple would be about the characters and the scenes in those movies." He sighed wistfully.

"You know that we're not really getting married, right?'

"Way to crush my dream, Nico. Just break a dude's heart, why don't you." Leo said in a dramatic voice.

"So... Are you going to explain the rings or not?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that! They're to store stuff. Not that I don't want to have to carry a ton of stuff with me to tartarus, but that would literally make hell worse."

"How does it store stuff?"

He pointed to the top of my ring, which looked like the empty space where a large jewel should go. He picked up a random paper air plane and put it on top of the empty space. After a second of me staring at him incredulously, it was absorbed into the ring.

"And... how do you get it out?"

He pressed the side of the ring, which contained seven notches, and scrolled down to the first notch. The plane came out, uncrumpled and returned to its former glory.

"You can only keep seven objects in here, and 'objects' means you could literally jam pack seven bags with stuff and store them all in here. The first object can be withdrawn using the first notch, the second with the second notch, third with third and so on. The ring is also infused with a bit of Hazel's energy or magic or whatever. It should help us shadow travel into tartarus. Come to think of it, I don't know how I would've made it there without you."

"Leo, this is amazing."

"Of course! What else did you expect from your loving fiance?"

"So when do you want to leave?"

"Well, since we're planning on having only one of us returning, I think we should spend one day here doing nothing but having fun and being happy. Just one day to live like it's our last chance to. How does that sound to you?"

"Honestly? That sounds amazing. Let's do it. Besides, right now I don't have the energy to get us there."

"Great! So it's settled."

All of a sudden, a mischievous look appeared on his face. "We can go sky divin'" He started singing with the worst country accent I've ever heard. "We can go rocky mountain climbin', we can go 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu!"

"Leo, no!"

"We can love deeper!"

"Stoop!"

"We can speak sweeter! We can give forgiveness we've been denying!"

"Not! You're killing me!" I doubled over laughing, falling off his bed in the process. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the floor with me.

"We can say someday we hope you get the chance... to live like you were dyin'!" He spoke the last line in the most country voice I'd ever heard. I Laughed so hard I almost passed out from the lack of breathing. He smiled at the sight of me laughing.

"You're beautiful when you laugh, loving future husband."

"Oh, will you ever let that go?" I asked, still laughing with a blush across my entire face.

"Never, hubby. So let's get started on our Leo day!"

"Leo day?"

"Yeah. Leo is a synonym for 'awesome, fun, once in a lifetime, and Nico's wife'. so all of those things are going to be included in they! We'll have an awesome fun time with once in a lifetime opportunities and me reminding you about our wedding. It's scheduled for next week. Don't forget."

I laughed again. I don't think anyone's ever made me laugh this much in one day.

"Sure, why not? Let's get on with a Leo day."

* * *

And just like that, I'm done. Night night, readers! Nice. 2,222 words. Author out *epic mic drop*


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